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As you know I am a fan of Beverley Nichols. Nichols was a remarkable writer. Among his various and far-reaching books, he often wrote about his gardens. Unfortunately, in Nichols’ mind, he is best known for his garden books. Being a “garden writer” to Nichols, was limiting, but he was just so good at it.
Roy C. Dicks has edited together a collection of Beverley Nichols opinionated, witty selections from his gardening tomes. Rhapsody in Green: The Garden Wit and Wisdom of Beverley Nichols is insightful and funny and a great introduction to Nichols thoughts on gardening. Here is a sampling:
To dig one’s own spade into one’s own earth! Has life anything better to offer than this?
Just as a room without a mirror is dead, so a garden without water is never quite alive.
Begonias are not flowers, they are a state of mind, and a regrettable state into the bargain.
Orchids…are nature’s shameless assertion of the doctrine of art for art’s sake.
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There is no way to belittle someone who writes so eloquently, even if it is about gardening.
Lucinda,the book is so delightful. and a great intro indeed. a great gifty bookie thingy. pgt
ReplyDeleteNichols, a relative of John Masefield, was a pretty darn good mystery author as well; see my blog posts on Nichols:
ReplyDeletehttp://elizabethfoxwell.blogspot.com/2007/11/beverley-nichols-continued.html
http://elizabethfoxwell.blogspot.com/2007/11/beverley-nichols.html
He was also one of the first Bright Young People in London during the Jazz Age. He's top on my list of dead people I want to meet!
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